6. Translate into Russian using text 4c.
Exceptionally high academic standards, atmosphere of wealth, the midst of a pleasant and fruitful valley, mediaeval, renaissance, ancient courtyards, apparently simple question, elusive concept, on the monastic pattern, deans rule the faculties, some kind of council, autonomous republics, pursuit of scholarly research, fiercely independent, senior member of the university, reelected, fellow, nobody is boss, look exhausted, applicants, get a place by paying a fee, undergraduate degree, exposition of ideas, optional, spend 5 days being idle, dreadful ordeal, old-fashioned ritual, on half-remembered subjects, emerge into the sunlight, stagger off, leather-bound books, began to computerize, insidious step, compete for limited places, humanities and social sciences.
7. Translate into English using text 4c.
Соперник, заповедник политической и бизнес-элиты страны, шпили и остроконечные башенки, едва ли какой-либо вид сравнится с панорамой, незнакомец (чужак), жилье, профессоры возглавляют факультеты, иерархия, общий бюджет и внешняя политика, студент старшего курса, энтузиазм, несмотря на свой почтенный возраст, голосовать за, назначается на четыре года, несмотря на, каково это – быть студентом в Оксфорде, государственный/частный университет, вступительные экзамены, степень, которую имеет выпускник вуза, добросовестный/сознательный, успокоить нервы, пытка, диссертация, богато обеспеченная, расходы на проживание, в год, стипендия.
8. Answer the following questions using text 4c.
1. Where is the University of Oxford situated?
2. What can you see walking around the city?
3. Why is it difficult to direct the stranger to the University?
4. When did Oxford University begin?
5. How did the students of the 12th century live?
6. What is the structure of Oxford University?
7. Who runs the departments? Who rules the faculties? Who is at the top of hierarchy?
8. Is it a democratic institution?
9. Is Oxford a state or a private university?
10. How are the students selected?
11. Is it possible to get a place paying a fee?
12. How long do they study to get a degree?
13. What is a tutorial?
14. What about lectures? Are they compulsory or optional?
15. Can a student be idle?
16. What do you know about ‘Finals’?
17. What do postgraduates busy with?
18. What is the Bodleian?
19. What do senior members think about computerization of the catalogue?
20. Why is it difficult for the Russian undergraduate to enter the University?
21. What problems do postgraduate meet studying at Oxford?
22. What should a youngish University lecturer do to obtain admittance to libraries and academic contacts?
23. What unique spring festival is celebrated in Oxford on the 1st of May?
9. Read the text about higher education in the usa Text 4d. Higher Education in the usa
T
here
is no national system of higher education in the United States.
Higher education is given in colleges and universities. There are
over 2100 various higher educational institutions, including
colleges, technological institutes and universities. American
colleges and universities are either public or private, that is,
supported by public funds or supported privately by a church
group or other groups acting as private citizens although under
a state charter.
A public institution is owned and operated by a government, either a state or a municipal government. The government appropriates large sums of money for the institution's expenses. Yet these sums are normally not sufficient to cover all expenses, and so the institution is partially dependent on student fees and on gifts.
A private institution receives no direct financial aid from any government, municipal, state or federal. The money used to pay the operating expenses has a threefold origin: tuition fees paid by the students, money given in the form of gifts for immediate use, and the income from invested capital in the possession of the institution and originally received by the institution in the form of the gifts to be invested with only the income to be spent.
Of the nation's nearly 1,900 institutions of higher learning roughly one-third are state or city institutions. About 1,200 are privately controlled. Approximately 700 of these are controlled by religious groups. Less than half of these institutions ate liberal art colleges and universities which stress the languages, history, science and philosophy. The rest are professional and technological schools and junior colleges.
A college is generally defined as an institution of higher learning which offers a course of instruction over a four-year period, and which grants a bachelor's degree at the conclusion of studies. As part of university, a college graduate is distinguished from a graduate of professional school. However, the professional schools in some universities are called colleges.
A college prepares the student for two things: either graduate study leading to master's or doctor's degree or a job immediately after graduation. A student who majors in business administration for example, may be fully prepared for a career in business when he has finished college.
On the other hand, a student majoring in psychology often must do a great deal of graduate work before he is competent in this field.
The average college course of study is 4 years. The academic year is usually 9 months or 2 terms of four and a half months each. Classes usually begin in September and end in June.
Students are classified as freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. A freshman is a first year student, a sophomore, a second year student, a junior, a third year student, and a senior, a fourth year student. All students who have graduated from the senior class and who continue studying at a university are classified as advanced students or graduate students. Some graduate students receive grants which cover the cost of their education; a person on such a fellowship is called a university fellow.
Harvard College was established in 1636, with the principal purpose of providing a literate ministry1 for colonial churches. It was a small institution, enrolling only 20 students in 1642 and 60 in 1660. It soon became more than a theological training school and established itself as a liberal arts college. The next institution of higher learning established in the American colonies was the College of William and Mary, which opened in 1693 at Williamsburg, Virginia. Other colleges were founded in the next century, but all of them remained small schools for long periods. Students entered at the age of 14 and remained until they were 18, and the curriculum, while rigidly academic and classic was by modern standards rather secondary in nature.
Private colleges and universities were established in various states. The first state university was the University of Virginia, founded in 1819. Some state universities have large endowment funds which provide a substantial portion of their support. Other sources of income are student fees, gifts and endowments.
In general, higher education in the USA may be divided into two broad fields: liberal arts and professional. Each of these fields may be further subdivided into undergraduate and graduate levels. The liberal arts program, on the undergraduate level, may be a two-year junior college course, or a four-year course leading to a degree of Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science. The four-year course is usually subdivided into a lower division (which may be called the junior college), consisting of the two first years, and the upper division, which is the last two years. The first two years continue the general education and specialization begins in the third year. Then the students may go on to graduate school and with a year or two of further study get a Master's degree. After another year or two of study and research, they may get a still higher degree as Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.).
The student's progress is evaluated by means of tests, term works and final examinations in each course. The student's work is given a mark, usually on a five point scale. Letters indicate the level of achievement. ‘A’ is the highest mark. ‘F’ denotes a failure.
10. Skim through text 4D and say which of its paragraphs gives information about:
a) what is a public institution; b) what is a private institution; c) what is a college; d) what a college prepares the student for; e)’classification’ of students; f) state universities; g) the first institutions of higher learning in the country; h) the two broad fields of higher education.
11. Say what information given in the text specifies the old facts you knew and which facts were new to you.
12. Find sentences with the following words and phrases in text 4D and translate them into Russian:
ministry, to enroll, a liberal arts college, an institution of higher learning, curriculum, modern standards, private college, state university, endowment funds, student fee, gift, undergraduate level, graduate level, junior college, general education, specialization, endowment funds, literate ministry, theological training school.
13. Find answers to the following questions in text 4D.
1. When was Harvard College established?
2. What was its original purpose?
3. Was it a big or small institution?
4. How many students studied at it at first?
5. What was the next institution of higher learning established in the American colonies?
6. Which was the first state university?
7. Which sources does the income of a state university come from?
8. Does a state university charge student fees?
9. What are the two fields of higher education in the USA?
10. What are further subdivisions of these fields?
14. Read the following text and translate words and phrases in italics into English using a dictionary. Practice their pronunciation.
В США не существует четкого определения самого понятия «высшее учебное заведение». В принципе любое учебное заведение, осуществляющее дальнейшую подготовку после окончания средней школы, так называемые «послесредние учебные заведения», объединяющие как аналогичные нашим институты, так и различные профессиональные училища типа школ медсестер, педучилищ, курсов механизаторов и пр., может с равной степенью вероятности называться «колледжем», «школой», «институтом» или даже «университетом». Единственным критерием для определения характера какого-либо учебного заведения США может служить лишь качественный уровень подготавливаемых им специалистов и выполняемых в нем научных исследований.
В США существует группа, состоящая из ведущих вузов, резко отличающаяся по своим показателям от всех остальных вузов страны. Именно эта группа прежде всего и определяет качественный вклад высшей школы в развитие научно-технического и экономического потенциала страны.
В их число входят «супервузы», которые являются безусловными лидерами в образовании и науке США. Список этих 16 «супервузов»: Калифорнийский университет − Беркли, Массачусетский технологический институт, Стенфордский, Висконсинский, Мичиганский, Иллинойский, Гарвардский, Корнельский, Вашингтонский (г.Сиэтл) университеты, Калифорнийский университет − Лос-Анджелес, Колумбийский, Йельский, Чикагский, Пенсильванский, Принстонский университеты и Калифорнийский технологический институт.
Причем, несмотря на развитие сети государственных вузов, частные вузы продолжают играть весьма существенную роль в формировании научно-образовательного потенциала США. Внутри группы «супервузов» качественный вклад частных вузов пока значительно выше, чем государственных.